Flexure pivots are rotary motion control devices used in electro-mechanical applications to control relatively high precision rotary motion over small distances. For example, flexure pivots are used to enable the positioning of camera heads to a high degree of precision. The flexure pivot has no dead band, friction, or hysteresis which would impede precise positioning.
One problem with commercial flexure pivots is that they tend to introduce lateral motion at their centers of rotation as they rotate. This motion degrades the performance of devices mounted to the pivots. Commercial pivots also often fatigue rather quickly and often buckle under heavier loads.
FIG. 1 shows a commonly used flexure pivot, known commercially as a Bendix flexure 10. The Bendix flexure consists of a cylindrical tube 12 that houses a pivoting element 14 connected to the tube 12 by two, perpendicular flexure blades 16, 18. The pivoting element 14 and the flexure blades 16, 18 are formed from separate materials and then affixed to each other and to the cylindrical tube 12. The flexure blades 16, 18 allow the pivoting element 14 to move within the cylindrical tube 12, as shown by the arrows 28, 30, when force is applied to the pivoting element. The flexure elements 16, 18 also operate in conjunction with two raised surfaces 20, 22 in the cylindrical tube 12 to restrict the motion of the pivoting element 14. As the pivoting element 14 moves within the cylindrical tube 12, the element's center of rotation 24 also moves, as shown by the arrow 26.